How to make the background of a photo blurry?

Question

I know it's called tilt shift on Instagram, I use it on there. But there are some photos that make the subject stand out REAL good. Can I do that without having to but a 900 dollar camera ? Besides instagrams tilt shift. I have an Android phone.

Answer 1

Tilt shift can be faked, or you can use a camera with a special tilt-shift lens.



Other than instagram, I don't think know if there are apps to fake a tilt shift. But if you have a computer that's a different story altogether. You could get an image editor like Photoshop (expensive) or GIMP http://www.gimp.org (free).



Then just google for "Fake tilt shift tutorial in [Insert name of image editor]".



Here's a really good tutorial for GIMP http://ffaat.pointclark.net/blog/archives/158-A-Better-Fake-Tilt-Shift-with-the-Gimp.html - perhaps a little complex for some. But the results are realistic.



I guess the others couldn't be bothered reading the question.

Answer 2

Shallow depth of field works better on a 35mm full frame chip, using a wide aperture f1.4 on an 85mm lens for example. It is hard to achieve the effect on a low budget camera which may be f3.5 or f4.

A camera the has a DX size chip works well with a 50mm f1.4 lens or a 50mm f1.8.

A phone would not have a lens good enough.

Answer 3

You probably will not be able to do it on a smart phone as a blurry background takes either a long focal length lens or a fast lens - neither of which you have.



Blurry background can be done on some Comact Cameras, but not generally smart phones.



Here is a webpage explaining the technique:



http://www.althephoto.com/concepts/selectivefocus.php



Here is an example of a blurry background on a $150 compact camera (Canon SX130) using the above website instructions.



http://www.althephoto.com/concepts/sf-sx130-60mm-f56.jpg